


Bedtime Stories

by manicmanner



Category: The Dresden Files - Jim Butcher
Genre: Gen, Molly Carpenter/Harry Dresden if you squint, Post-Book 14: Cold Days, Pre-Book 15: Skin Game
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-19
Updated: 2014-09-19
Packaged: 2018-02-17 22:57:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2326142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/manicmanner/pseuds/manicmanner
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry needed time to see he wasn’t the villain he thought he was.</p><p>So Molly did what she could.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bedtime Stories

**Author's Note:**

> When Harry met Maggie officially for the first time, the thought that Molly had been telling her stories about him just tugged at my heartstrings. And then I wrote this.

She didn’t realize how much she missed this.

Most of the Carpenter clan was gathered around the dining-room table, swapping stories about the week and chasing those words down with her mother’s home cooking. Molly watched as the Jawas complained about homework and school. Matthew was away with college, but Alicia had taken over as head kid and Molly can see how her sister absolutely glowed with the responsibility. 

It was so strange. Her little Jawas were all grown up. It made her feel weary thinking about it. She never would have thought it a few years ago, but things change.

Like she had. Whenever any of her family asked her how things were going, Molly quickly back-pedaled out of the question. She would tell them half-truths, anecdotes that were interesting but didn’t require probing. She never outright lied to anyone. She didn’t want to. (She wasn’t sure if she still could. That thought terrified her the most, but she didn’t want to test that theory just yet.) 

She wasn’t ready to tell them yet about her new life. Being the Winter Lady was a hard job, and coming home gave her a moment’s reprieve from all of the Sidhe politics. 

And there were always the two newest additions to the Carpenter household that both warmed Molly’s heart and made it ache.

Mouse, the big goof, was dancing underneath the table, looking for anyone who was willing to feed him. Which made everyone laugh. But he always returned back to Maggie, his official charge, curling himself up behind her chair after a round of stolen bites.

The dark haired girl was sitting on the other end of the table, trying to make herself smaller. She nodded and smiled occasionally but she was stoic compared to the rest of the family. Like her dad on his worst brooding days.

Molly watched her, taking her in. Maggie was sweet, and at times she would do things that would remind her of Harry. Just little things, like nervous ticks they both shared and how their smiles could be infectious. 

After “getting better” Harry had been avoiding the Carpenter household like the plague. Which made Molly feel all sorts of things: anger, frustration, sadness, betrayal. But she wrestled those feelings down when she realized something. Harry needed time to see he wasn’t the villain he thought he was.

So Molly did what she could.

As Molly helped her mom pack away the leftovers (there were some to pack away these days, with the kids moving on from the house), she felt someone’s eyes on her. She glanced over her shoulder to see Maggie standing in the doorway. When she realized she was being watched Maggie hid her face in Mouse’s fur. Mouse craned his head to glance at Maggie before glancing back at Molly, barking softly.

Molly smiled as she walked up to the girl. “You ready for me to tuck you in?”

That got a reaction from Maggie. She lifted her face to wrinkle her nose at Molly. “I don’t need to be tucked in. I can do it myself, you know.” But as she trotted up the stairs, Mouse following behind her, she glanced back at Molly shyly.

Molly glanced back at her mother, who was finishing up with the dishes without her help. As she put the last pan on the drying rack, her mom said, “You’re doing a good thing with Maggie.”

That made Molly’s stomach do somersaults. Before she could protest, her mom waved her off. “I know that you’ve got things going on right now. But I appreciate that you come see your family now and then.” Molly hid the wince. “And I know that Dresden would appreciate what you’re doing for Maggie.”

Molly fiddled with her hands. “Actually, about Harry…”

Charity was drying her hands with a spare rag before looking up at her sharply at the comment. She muttered something to herself (Molly imagined a, “Lord help us”) before sighing in resignation. 

“I won’t ask questions,” Charity pronounced. She walked over, giving Molly a quick hug. Molly let it linger, taking in her mother’s clean scent, soaking in her warmth. Molly never felt the cold anymore, but the heat of another person was magnified in its absence. “But I know you’re doing good work, whatever it is.”

That rocked Molly. She stepped back to stare at her mother’s face. She looked tired, like she used to when her husband was away on Knight business. How Molly felt a lot these days. “How are you so sure?” she asked quietly.

The smile that worked onto Charity’s face made her look younger. “Maggie.” She wasn’t to sure about that, but that reassurance let Molly mirror the smile. Charity turned back to the sink. “Now, I believe you owe Ms. Dresden a story.”

“Yeah,” Molly said, “guess I do.”

She made her way up the stairs and down the hall, stopping to knock on Maggie’s door. Without missing a beat, the girl chimed, “Come in.”

Molly opened the door but didn’t cross the threshold. “You know, you shouldn’t just invite anyone into your room,” Molly teased. “You never know who’s visiting you.”

Maggie’s head peaked out over the edge of the top bunk. Mouse sneezed softly at Molly, but didn’t get up from his doggy bed.

“Who would visit? A Dracula or something?” Maggie asked.

“Actually, yeah.”

Maggie did her best impression of a goldfish. Molly grinned. “Some vampires can come into a home uninvited, but a Dracula one can’t. So be careful, okay?”

Maggie was gripping her sheets, barely containing the buzz of excitement. “Have you ever met one, Molly?”

“Not personally.” Molly hesitated. She had told stories about some of the things she had seen to Maggie before, edited down to small, PG versions of themselves. Most of them involved a certain someone she had never named. Until now. “But I know someone who has.”

“Who?”

“My—“ How does one describe him? “Harry Dresden,” she finished lamely. She didn’t have much of a claim to him. Not anymore, if she ever did. (A part of her noted that wasn't necessarily true, but she shoved that aside.) 

As soon as she said the name, the room grew quiet. Molly resisted the urge to fidget. Maggie’s face was scrunched up in thought. “My dad’s met a Dracula?” she asked Molly quietly.

Molly took a deep breath. “Yep. Pretty cool, huh?”

Another silence permeated the room, uncertain where to go from here. “What happened?”

Molly gave her a small smile. “I don’t know all of the details, but I can tell you what I know.”

Maggie pondered over that for a moment. “Deal,” she declared. The girl flipped over onto her stomach hugging her pillow. “Tell me.”

And with that, Molly couldn’t say no. The desk tucked into the corner of the room had a chair, which is where Molly sat. Mouse got up from his bed and made his way over to Molly’s feet. Maggie watched from her bed with her big dark eyes. And Molly started.

**Author's Note:**

> Quements and critiques are always appreciated. And I hope you enjoyed!


End file.
